


Will You Be There

by WABL



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Cuddles, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Lots of cuddles, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Morning Cuddles, Sleepy Cuddles, Slow Burn, Smut, it's Gabe, not rated because I haven't decided how explicit the smut will be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-04 01:22:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14009100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WABL/pseuds/WABL
Summary: After the final fight at the hospital, Theo parks his car outside of Liam's house. Liam finds Theo sleeping in his car, and invites him inside. Theo comes back every night.





	1. Hold Me

**Author's Note:**

> So the final season of Teen Wolf and the tension between Liam and Theo, especially in that elevator scene, inspired me to write for the first time in five years. This is the result.

Liam heard the guns click and knew immediately he was in deep trouble. The hunters had thought ahead and laid another trap in case the first one failed, as it had.

“Wait.” Gabe commanded the others, “Let me do it.”

Liam slowly walked backwards away from the hunters, sizing up his chances. Against five of them, he might survive, but he would get seriously hurt.

“Go ahead, Liam. Run. It’ll be more fun that way.”

What Liam could do was jump out of the way as they fired. That would work, he was sure of it. He backed up further, ready to spring away.

The lights flickered. The elevator doors pinged. Liam couldn’t look away from the hunters. He felt someone grab him round the chest and pull him away, into the elevator, just as bullets rained down on them. He looked up. Theo.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, his heart still pounding.

Theo pulled off the beanie he had on, “I was just asking myself the same thing.”

What _was_ he doing here? With Liam. At the hospital. Again. Now he could add being shot at with semi-automatic weapons to the ghost riders and sister that haunted this place in his nightmares.

The doors stopped ringing. The hunters had stopped firing, but the elevator wasn’t going anywhere, no matter how many times Theo smashed the button for the ground floor.

“When the power goes, it’s only got enough juice for one trip,” Liam explained, “in case anyone’s in here when it’s cut.”

“Well shit.”

Theo moved away from the doors, trying to work out what to do. If the hunters were still here, then he was doing as Scott had asked, buying time. Yet he hated being trapped in this small space, waiting to be killed. Surely it was better to go down fighting.

Liam was by the doors, listening hard.

“They still out there?” Theo asked.

Liam nodded. His jaw was clenched, his body still ready for action, still ready to attempt something stupid and heroic.

Theo stepped towards him, “I’m not dying for you.”

Liam stared at him almost forcefully, “I’m not dying for you either.”

Now that they’d spoken, one thing was very clear, they could die tonight. These could be their final minutes alive, their last words, and the last almost-friendly face they saw.

Theo dropped his gaze, Liam was staring at him too intensely. He was so singularly focused on doing something, anything, that didn’t involve waiting for the hunters’ next move. Liam knew this was one time when his anger was his strength. He could help Scott do whatever he needed to do, and he could definitely help Melissa, Mason, and Corey, who he knew were still in the hospital. He stepped even closer to Theo, still staring him down, challenging him.

“But I will fight with you.”

Theo met Liam’s eyes, and in that moment, he knew he would fight. If he was going to die, there was no one else he’d rather have by his side. If he was going to die, he was going to make his last minutes count for something. If he was going to die, he needed to remember what living was like, because he knew what was waiting for him.

Theo grabbed the back of Liam’s head, closing the distance between them. His eyes flicked to Liam’s lips as Liam’s arms wrapped behind his back. There was a moment, as brief as the pause between an inhale and an exhale, when Theo hesitated, his resolve to live fully not quite letting him go this far. Liam surged up and forward, catching Theo’s lips with his own. It was a strong, forceful kiss. Liam’s arms tightened around Theo’s back, even as Theo tried to pull Liam’s face even closer to his own. Adrenaline coursed through both of them, and it was only when he needed desperately to breathe that Theo pushed Liam away, gasping.

“Okay,” Theo sighed. He was ready now, “Let’s fight.”

Liam’s eyes glowed, a smile coming to his face. He reached for the button to open the door as he felt his claws and fangs dropping. With a last look at Theo, similarly wolfed out, he pressed open.

The doors pinged and slid open, revealing the two boys snarling, ready to give the hunters a run for their money. They moved in tandem, dispatching one, two, three, four. There was no need to communicate, they’d fought together enough times that their instincts took over. Together, they threw the last hunter halfway across the room. Then, Liam heard that unmistakable click again. Back down the corridor, one of the hunters was getting up, ready to shoot them. Theo and Liam prepared to pounce, to duck, to hurt him, when Melissa rounded the corner, hitting the man with an electric baton. He dropped to the floor. Then Nolan ran around the corner, grabbing one of the discarded guns and smashing another hunter’s head as he too tried to get up.

“Get down!” He shouted.

Liam and Theo turned. Gabe was there, gun ready. Theo saw Liam twitch, readying himself to attack the other boy, but Theo knew they wouldn’t reach him. He grabbed Liam’s shoulder and pulled him back as Gabe fired, the bullets whizzing past them, around them, through them. They fell to the floor, Liam hit in the leg, Theo in the shoulder. A gurney and a bank of supplies offered some slight cover, so Theo and Liam rolled away from each other.

Gabe stopped firing. Liam could see him through the shelves he was hiding behind, nonchalantly turning his back on them, probably to get reinforcements. He snapped. All the anger that was in him flooded his veins, making him forget the bullet that had just smashed through his leg. He roared and chased after Gabe, slamming into the other boy. The gun was caught between their chests, uselessly firing into the air. Liam just needed to get it away from Gabe and they’d be safe, but the boy’s grip was strong.

Theo grunted in pain as he pushed him further up the wall. If Liam could keep fighting, then he could too. Even Nolan had run off to help

“Shoot both of them!” Theo heard Monroe’s voice from the radio, he had to do something.

Shots rang out again, just as Liam finally pushed Gabe away from him. The wannabe hunter took the full force of the bullets across his chest, falling to the floor with blood already pooling around him.

A dull thunk sounded throughout the room as Nolan hit the other hunter on the head with a fire extinguisher. Then there was silence.

Melissa rushed past Theo to check on Liam, who was still crouched on the floor where he dropped for safety.  Gabe was dragging himself away from the werewolf, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Theo pushed himself up the wall. Liam and Melissa stood. None of them took their eyes off of Gabe as he reached the cabinets.

The boy looked pitiful, coughing up blood as he struggled to breathe. Theo knew that he was still dangerous, maybe more than he had ever been. A true fanatic would use these last moments to make his death count.

“It hurts,” Gabe panted, almost laughing, “It hurts.”

Not a true fanatic then. Theo moved past Melissa and Liam, no longer seeing the hunter that had tried to kill them all, only a scared, lonely kid who just wanted the pain to go away. Theo knew that feeling. He had felt it himself, and done terrible things to make it stop. He had seen others feel it, had caused them to feel it. But this time he could help.

Theo crouched down in front of Gabe. Taking Gabe’s arm in his hands, Theo pushed up his sleeve. He remembered when he had been so afraid to die that he was willing to do anything to live, even take another’s life. He and Gabe had that in common. Theo felt rather than saw the black veins of pain flowing down Gabe’s arm and it his own. Gabe’s breathing slowed.

“Does it hurt anymore?” Theo asked.

Gabe shook his head, just managing to whisper, “No.”

“Good.”

Theo saw the light fade from Gabe’s eyes. He dropped the boy’s arm. Around him, the lights flickered, but he was barely aware of them. Gabe’s pain was still inside him, for the moment. A fleeting reminder of the boy who’d lost his life because he’d let his fear turn to anger.

A hand on Theo’s shoulder broke him from his reverie. Liam was standing above him, a concerned look on his face. Melissa, Mason, and Corey were behind him, with Nolan still standing apart.

“Can you feel it?” Liam asked, “I think it’s over.”

Monroe’s voice sounded from the unconscious hunters’ radios, “This is Monroe, someone report with a status. Now. Someone respond. Someone talk to me.”

Theo gestured to the nearest hunter, asking Liam, “You want to do the honours?”

Liam reached for the radio, as Monroe grew increasingly agitated, “What’s happening? Someone pick up the radio and tell me what’s happening!”

“You lost.”

 

* * *

 

 

Theo sat in the gutter next to his truck, watching the others come out of the hospital. He saw Mason hug Liam goodbye, saw Corey wave goodbye to Liam and Melissa, saw Melissa turn to talk to Sherriff Stilinski, Parrish, and Scott’s dad. Nolan was waiting sheepishly by the police car, Stilinski had told the boy he’d be dropping him home and having a word with his parents. Everyone was heading home. There was still work to do, but that could wait until the morning. They could all feel the fear that had been lingering over Beacon Hills dissipating, like a fog lifting as the sun rises. Tonight they could all sleep soundly, not having to worry if a hunter would decide to shoot them in their beds. Those of them that had beds.

“Hey.”

Theo blinked. He’d been staring without really seeing. Melissa and her ex were now getting into a car and Liam was standing right in front of him.

“Hey,” he drawled back.

“Can I sit?” Liam asked, motioning to the kerb beside Theo.

“Free country.”

Liam sat beside him, “I wanted to say thanks….” He began.

Theo turned to him with a smirk, “for saving your life again?”

“Yeah,” Liam laughed quietly, “and for fighting with us.”

“It’s … nothing.”

Liam was quiet for a moment, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, all healed.”

“No, I meant …. After taking Gabe’s pain. It can feel weird.”

Theo met Liam’s faze, for once being entirely honest, “yeah, I’m okay. I’m … glad I could help him.”

“Good!” Liam jumped up, offering Theo his hand, “can you drive me home then?”

Theo ignored the offered hand and raised his eyebrow, “why didn’t you get Mason to drive you?”

Liam chuckled, “well him and Corey just said ‘I love you’ for the first time so I didn’t really want to be third wheel on that ride home.”

Theo got to his feet, laughing, “understandable.” He unlocked the car, “get in.”

They drove in a comfortable silence to Liam’s house, neither of them wanting to talk about anything that had happened in the hospital. As Theo pulled up, Liam said again, “Thanks.”

“No problem, I was heading this way anyway,” Theo lied, having no idea where he would pull over to sleep tonight.

Liam dropped his gaze, mumbling, “for the hospital too, for saving me.”

Theo’s face was blank for a few seconds, noting Liam’s earnestness. Should he respond in kind? He went with his default.

“Well I’ll just add it to the other times you owe me for.”

Liam huffed, shaking his head as he opened his door. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Theo was taken aback again, “At Scott’s?”

“Yeah, everyone will be there. Unless you had other plans?”

“Yeah, I guess. I’ll be there.”

“Cool, see ya!” Liam turned and walked quickly into his house, not glancing behind once. Theo watched him go, hearing as he walked up the stairs, and crashed onto his bed. He almost snorted at the thought of Liam falling face first onto his bed, still in his dirty, trashed clothes.

Shaking his head, he muttered, “Drive, Theo.”

So he did. He pulled away from Liam’s house, still with no idea where to park tonight. The town was quiet. Sure it was late, but Theo had the feeling that everyone had retreated into their homes, taking solace in the safety of their families. The fear might have gone, but the memory of it remained, as did the knowledge that werewolves were real and walked among them. Who knows what that would do to regular humans in the long run?

Theo kept driving, turning down random streets when he felt like it, seeing nowhere that called out to him as a good place to stop and sleep for the few hours until the sun rose. Then he realised that he’d come back to Liam’s street. He slammed on the brakes, coming to a stop in front of Liam’s house. His grip was tight on the steering wheel. This street was just as quiet as the rest of the town.

“Fuck it,” Theo put the car in park, here was as good a place as any. With luck, there wouldn’t be any deputies roaming around tonight, and he’d be up and gone with the sun. He stretched out as much as he could on the back seat, fishing a blanket out to cover himself. After a few minutes, he cracked open a window. For air, he told himself, trying to ignore the fact that if he slowed his own breathing and listened hard, he could just make out what he knew must be Liam’s heartbeat, sleeping peacefully in his own bed.

 

* * *

 

“We lost a lot of people, good people, some I didn’t ever think we could trust, but we got through it, like we always do.”

“Enough with the platitudes, Scott,” Peter interrupted, “There’s still some work the adults have to do.”

Malia glared at her father, but he was right. While they were still all together, they needed to discuss their next steps.

“Um, yeah, you’re right,” Scott stammered, “Argent, what do we know?”

They all turned. Argent was just inside the McCall’s living room, having begrudgingly left Melissa in the kitchen preparing some food. Lydia was on one couch, still clinging to Jackson, who looked in his element between his ex and his current lover. Stiles was perched next to Lydia, looking not too happy at the fact his girlfriend seemed more intent on catching up with Jackson than with him. Mason, Corey and Liam were on the other couch, with Theo standing awkwardly behind them. Malia sat on the floor next to Scott.

“Gerard distributed a lot of weapons in the past few weeks,” Argent began, “Some of them have already been turned into the Sherriff’s station this morning, but there are still a lot of people out there who are very well armed.”

“But with the Anuk-Ite gone they shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Mason asked.

Peter laughed, stepping forward from where he’d been standing with Derek, “Not every human is as accepting of werewolves as you are, kid.”

“He’s right,” Argent said, “Not all hunters follow a code like my family.”

“Your family didn’t even manage that,” Peter remarked.

“No, that’s true, we made mistakes, but we tried to train people to defend those who couldn’t defend themselves.”

“Just ask your sister.” Derek growled, “Where is she by the way?”

“Guys!” Scott tried to regain some control, “we have to listen to each other.”

“I don’t see why we do,” Jackson said, “Ethan and I are on the next flight out of here.”

Lydia rolled her eyes, “Back to London, where you were already ambushed by hunters who weren’t being influenced by the Anuk-Ite.”

“Lydia has a point,” Argent added, “Gerard and Monroe have influenced others, things aren’t going to go quiet anytime soon. And to answer the other question, Kate’s disappeared again.”

“So we can add her to our list of crazy were-whatevers we have to deal with,” Malia scoffed. Peter looked at her with a hint of pride.

“Maybe,” Argent agreed, “But she might just stay away for a while.”

“Or come and hunt me down, given she’s apparently in the FBI?” Stiles joked.

“The point is,” Scott said, again trying to steer them in the right direction, “we’re all going different ways, but we’re all going to have to help out how we can.”

They all nodded.

“Good,” Scott continued, “Jackson and Ethan are going back to London, and are going to keep us informed of what’s going on over there, right?

“Like we’ll need your-“

“Yes,” Ethan cut off his boyfriend’s remark.

“Stiles is going back to the FBI, and will help how he can from there.”

“And you damn well better keep me better informed this time.”

“We will, sorry again.”

“Probably could’ve stopped the whole thing earlier if I’d known,” Stiles muttered, knowing every supernatural in the room would hear him clearly. Scott pressed on.

“Liam, Mason, Corey, you’re going back to school.”

“What!” Liam exclaimed, “After everything that’s happened there you just expect us to go back?”

“Yes.”

“But everyone hates us! And Mrs Finch is an alpha, how are we meant to deal with all that?” Liam didn’t understand why Mason and Corey weren’t more upset by this.

“Liam, you have to go back to school because it will help the town go back to normal,” The adults in the room nodded along with Scott, “There are more of us than we know, and if they see you being accepted, it will help them come forward so we can protect each other. All we’ve ever fought for is a normal life.”

More objections came to Liam’s lips, but Mason nudged him, so he kept silent.

“Lydia, Malia, and I still want to go to college next semester, but until then we’ll help Argent find survivors from the packs Monroe attacked.”

“Leaving those of us with looser morals to hunt down any remaining idiots with guns,” Peter finished.

“Not hunt,” Scott pleaded.

“Scott what do think Derek, Theo, and I are going to do if we come across someone who’s armed and ready to kill us? Make them a friendship bracelet and sing kum-by-ya?”

“Me?” Theo’s voice was quiet, and he hadn’t moved from where he was standing behind the couch.

Derek nodded, Peter explained, “You can get through mountain ash, and you can fight.”

Melissa entered, “okay, if the battle plans have been drawn up, there’s a lot of food in there that’s going cold.”

The rest of the pack rushed into the kitchen, leaving Theo stunned that he’d been included in their plans, not just as a last resort, but from the beginning.

 

* * *

 

During the night, Liam woke, annoyed at himself. He’d left his curtains open again. It had happened every now and again since Scott had bit him, like the wolf part of him wanted to feel the moonlight. The human part of him wanted to sleep in darkness. Tonight though, he thought he could blame his exhaustion. After Scott’s, Liam, Mason, and Corey had dropped into the school to smooth over their return. Well, mainly Liam’s. It hadn’t gone well.

Grumbling to himself, Liam got out of bed to close the curtains. Something stopped him, a familiar truck. Theo’s truck, that, if Liam flashed his eyes, looked like it was occupied. What the hell was Theo doing sleeping in his truck in front of Liam’s house?

 

A soft tapping on the window woke Theo. It wouldn’t have taken much more, he never slept well in the truck. He’d been pushing his luck coming back here, but just like last night, he hadn’t really planned it. He’d only realised where he was when he started searching out Liam’s heartbeat. Now of course some concerned resident had called the cops. He kept his eyes screwed shut, rolling onto all fours with his head down. He’d been through this enough times to hate the bright light of a torch shining in his face just as he woke up.

It didn’t come. Instead, there was a quiet, tentative, “Theo?”

Theo’s eyes flew open. He scrambled back from the window that Liam was peering through, concern written all over his face.

“Why are you sleeping in your truck?” Liam asked in that same soft, caring tone.

Theo was, for once, speechless. Wasn’t it obvious? No one sleeps in a car for fun, or because they find it comfortable. Even a sarcastic response would give too much away.

Liam let the silence linger for a minute, but given that Theo’s eyes hadn’t narrowed at all from their initial shock, knew that he wasn’t getting an answer anytime soon.

“Come inside.”

“What?”

“Come inside,” Liam repeated, “Quietly.”

With that, he turned and started walking back towards the house. Theo followed, quickly, but trying not to appear too eager. A bed would be good. He trailed Liam up the stairs and into his bedroom, where apparently they would be sharing a bed.

“Did you want a shower?” Liam pointed to a door, “I’ll get you some clothes.”

Theo nodded, walking through to the ensuite. He looked around, there was only one towel, and given that it had been stuffed back onto the rail without much ceremony, he guessed Liam had used it recently.

“Ahh … I’ll need …”

“Oh right, a towel,” Liam called, “hang on.”

Liam brought in a fresh towel, a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt. He left the bathroom without another glance at Theo.  

Theo showered quickly, not wanting to keep Liam up for any longer than he had, or feel like he owed him something. Liam was just worried about him, he could probably come up with some plausible lie in the morning.

Liam was lying on his back when Theo got out of the shower, his hands behind his head and the covers pulled up to his bare shoulders. The sheets on the other side of the bed were turned down, waiting for Theo to get in.

“This is okay yeah?” Liam asked as Theo stood just looking at the bed.

“Ah…yeah.” Theo got in the bed, turning his back away from Liam.

“Theo?”

“Yeah?”

“Turn off the light? It’s on your side.”

Theo complied, then closed his eyes. The bed was comfortable, but he could practically hear Liam still thinking behind him. After a minute, Liam finally whispered, “Theo?”

He let just a hint of irritation colour his voice, “Yes?”

“Do you think the Anuk-Ite is still affecting us?”

He hadn’t been expecting that, “Half the town handed back their guns.”

“No, affecting _us_? Like … supernatural people.”

“Oh,” Theo had lived with a heavy dose of fear most of his life, “Why?”

“I went to school today,” Liam explained, “and I just felt everyone staring.”

“Well they do know you’re a werewolf now, it might take a while to get used to it.”

“But I don’t think they actually were, I was just afraid that they would.”

“Maybe it is…”

Liam went quiet again, but wriggled a bit, there was still one more question burning in his mind.

“Theo?” His voice was back to that concerned timbre it had outside.

Theo didn’t trust himself to speak again, he hummed to show he was still awake.

“Why were you sleeping in your car outside of _my_ house?”

Theo’s breath caught. He didn’t know why Liam’s house, but there was one thing he was sure of. He spoke as quietly as possible, letting Liam know that even though he knew the other boy would hear him, Theo wasn’t sure he wanted him to.

“I didn’t want to be alone.”

“Oh Theo.” That same voice again.

Liam couldn’t say anything to Theo’s admission. He’d never heard him so bare and truthful before. The only thing he could think of to was to comfort him somehow, and words had never been his strong suit. He rolled over towards Theo, drawing the other boy into his chest. He felt Theo tense, heard his breath and his heart flutter a bit. Then, as Liam’s warmth radiated from him, Theo took hold of the arm around him and pulled it a fraction tighter. Their breathing slowed, and they fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the shifting perspective, it will continue, maybe blame the Modernists?


	2. Lift Me

Liam woke to the dawn light pouring in through the still uncovered window. With all that had happened - finding Theo, inviting him in, spooning him - Liam had forgotten to close the damn curtains.

Theo was already up, back in his own clothes, quietly putting his shoes on at the edge of the bed. The clothes he’d slept in were folded neatly by his pillow.

“Trying to sneak out?” Liam asked sleepily.

Theo laughed, but didn’t turn around, “I told Derek and Peter I’d meet them early.”

Liam continued to watch as Theo finished tying his shoes, stood up and made his way to the door, all without looking back at the bed. When Theo grasped the handle, Liam saw his shoulders rise as he took a deep breath.

“Thanks.”

“Theo.”

Finally he turned around, responding to that soft voice Liam had been using so much lately.

“You can come back tonight, if you want. Don’t sleep in your car.”

Theo nodded, again unsure what to say. Liam, with his hair messed up and his voice low and gravely from sleep, was being too kind.

“Okay. Thanks.” With that he left.

Liam braved school again, and again he felt like it was a mistake. He barely said a word to his parents during dinner, excusing himself as soon as he could to wait impatiently for Theo. He opened a biology assignment, mainly to be able to tell himself that he was not just waiting by the window for Theo’s truck to pull up. As his step dad left for the night shift, Liam was reading the Wikipedia page on mitochondria. As he heard his mum go to bed, he was reading intently about medication, and when Theo finally pulled up outside his house, he’d made his way to Geneva. Liam shut off his computer, having only written a hundred words in the few hours he’d been in his room. He sent Theo a text – _door’s open. Turn the key after you come in_. After a few more minutes, Theo finally stepped into his room, dirty and smelling of dried sweat.

“Hey,” he motioned towards the bathroom, “Can I?”

‘Yeah, the towel’s still in there,” Liam was taken aback by Theo’s appearance. What had he been doing with Derek and Peter?

“Oh wait, Theo!”

Theo popped his head back out of the bathroom, his shirt already discarded.

“You can borrow these again, if you need.”

Liam pulled the clothes Theo had worn the previous night out from under a pillow, rushing to hand them over. Theo’s eyes flicked for a few seconds between Liam’s face, the clothes, and the pillow they’d just been pulled from, “Thanks.”

He didn’t let himself smile until the bathroom door was safely closed behind him. Liam wanted him here. He took longer in the shower, letting the warm water wash away the stresses of his day. The shampoo Liam had was pretty generic, but the body wash smelt delicious. It was a deep, manly scent, with just a hint of some spicy sort of citrus. Theo assumed Hayden must have bought it for him.

When he got out of the shower, he found Liam in much the same position he had been last night, the sheets turned down, inviting Theo in.

“What happened today?” Liam asked as Theo got into the bed.

Theo lay on his side, facing Liam, “We were tracking some hunters through the woods.”

“Did you … find them?” Liam stayed on his back, turning his face towards the other boy.

“No, no people. We found a cache of weapons, but the hunters had moved on. They’re running.”

“Good.”

“Yeah. They might regroup though. Peter wants to track them and ambush them, but I don’t think Derek is that keen on a fight.”

“And you?”

Liam’s eyes were searching Theo’s face, looking for any and every sign of emotion. “I’m trying to let them make the decisions, but … I’d prefer not to fight.”

Liam nodded, understanding Theo’s answer. He was the same, he’d fight if he had to, but that didn’t mean he wanted to.

“Can you get the light?”

Theo reached behind him, flicking of the lamp. He could tell Liam was thinking just as much as he had been last night.

It took a few minutes after the light was off for Liam to venture, “Theo?”

“Yeah?”

“The Anuk-Ite is definitely still affecting me.”

Theo let Liam’s admission hang in the air for a moment, “Did something happen?”

“I almost punched Nolan. Like, right in the face.”

“He does have an annoying face.”

“This isn’t funny Theo.” He could feel Liam’s glare through the dark.

“I know,” Theo reached his hand forward, finding Liam’s bicep. He rubbed it a little, “Why did you almost punch Nolan in the face?”

“He came up to us at school. Started to apologize to us again, said I should come back to the lacrosse team, be captain again, and I just started thinking that he was the reason I’d been forced off the team in the first place. I almost wolfed out, I wanted to punch him so badly.”

“But you didn’t?”

“No, I walked away and punched a wall. But I still feel like I could’ve hurt Nolan, if I’d let myself.” Liam almost mumbled the last part, “What if I’m not safe around normal people?”

“There’s a big difference between thinking about hurting someone and actually doing it. I’d know.”

He heard Liam gulp at that thought, as though he’d just remembered that he was sharing his bed with someone who’d been sent to Hell.

“Liam, if it is fear, then maybe you have to face it.”

“What do you mean?”

‘Don’t run away. Find a way to face Nolan, and everyone else who looked at you in fear. Work with them. Turn their fear around and maybe yours will go away too.”

“Huh… you’re actually smart when you want to be.”

“Reformed evil genius remember?”

Liam scoffed, “Sure.”

He turned over, pulling Theo’s arm with him. “Goodnight, Theo.”

Theo shuffled a bit closer, “Goodnight.

His arm was warm across Liam’s bare chest, but he liked it. The feeling of someone else being so comfortable with him was unusual, at least when he didn’t have an ulterior motive. When Liam had spooned him last night, he had felt safe and … well, if not loved, then at the very least liked. Not for some act that he’d put on, but because of who he actually was. He hadn’t come here tonight expecting to cuddle again. Because that’s what they were doing, cuddling. But it felt right. He felt that same safety, and a whole lot of trust. It was … nice. Theo hated that word, but that’s what this was.

“Dammit!”

Liam pushed Theo’s arm away and stormed over to the window, angrily pulling the curtains closed. His eyes flashed as he made his way back to the bed, taking in Theo’s incredulous look, “I don’t want to wake up at sunrise again.”

“Okay,” Theo mumbled.

Liam got back into the bed, settling himself closer to Theo. His back pressed into Theo’s chest, and he pushed and prodded until one of his legs was between Theo’s. His grip was tight on Theo’s arm.

“Better.”

Theo laughed lightly, because he had to agree, this was better. Their breathing slowed as they dropped into sleep, and for the first time in months, Theo slept through the night, not waking until well after the sun. Liam was still in his arms.

 

* * *

 

Three more nights passed in the same manner. Liam would head up to his room his room soon after dinner, and now that he was more accustomed to Theo coming, would actually get some homework done. Not enough yet to catch up on everything he’d missed, but enough that he wasn’t falling further behind. After he’d heard his parents leave for work or turn in for the night, he’d go downstairs, and unlock the front door, ready for Theo to slip in.

On what would have been the sixth night, Liam was engrossed in an English project. Scott had made him promise that he would actually read the novel and not just use SparkNotes, and so Liam was diligently reading and answering questions chapter by chapter. His parents both had an early start the next morning, so they’d headed off to bed about 9:30, which was an hour earlier than Theo had ever got to his house. Even so, Liam quietly made his way to the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water, and unlocked the front door on his way back to his room. When he next looked at the time, after working on another three chapters, it was 11:30. That was the latest Theo had come. Maybe Peter had him doing something tonight. Liam stuck into another chapter, finishing up on that about 12:15. Still nothing to worry about, Liam himself had often been sneaking around the high school or preserve at that time. At one am, he gave up on finishing the next chapter and checked through all his texts. No one had mentioned anything about a late night mission, not Scott, not Peter, not Malia, not Theo. There was no reason for Theo to be out this late, it’s not like he had any other friends. Liam typed out a message to Scott, asking if he’d heard anything, but he deleted it. Messaging Scott about Theo would mean telling Scott that Theo had been sleeping in his car, Liam was sure that Theo would want that kept private. Also, Liam wasn’t quite sure how he would explain Theo sharing his bed for the past five nights. The first night it had just been easier than making up the spare room, but now Liam actually looked forward to their cuddling.

2am rolled around, still no Theo. Liam had tidied his room, had even considered vacuuming, but that would’ve woken his parents. He went downstairs again and checked the door. It was still open. So it wasn’t that Theo had suddenly gained chameleon powers, used them on his truck, but then been foiled by a locked door. There was just no good explanation for why he wasn’t here.

Liam finally caved at 2:30 and sent Theo a text asking him if he was okay. Nine minutes later Theo’s truck pulled up. Like he always did, Theo sat out the front for a few minutes before slowly and quietly making his way to the house. Liam was ready to help him with whatever he needed, still completely unsure as to what had gone wrong during the day. But when Theo walked into Liam’s room, he looked fine. He was still wearing the clothes he’d put on that morning, they didn’t have any bullet holes or dried blood or claw marks. He smelled and looked clean, not like he’d spent the whole day and night tracking hunters through the woods. Why the hell was he so late?

“What happened?” He finally asked.

“Nothing.”

Liam was furious. He clenched his fists, and saw Theo’s eyes dart to them.

“What the hell Theo?” No answer, Theo just stared blankly.

Liam turned around to pull the curtains closed, like hell was he going to wake up early if he was only going to bed now, “Just hurry up and shower.”

Theo retreated into the bathroom, but only to wash his face. He hadn’t expected Liam to wait up for him, he’d gone practically double the speed limit when he’d got the text. He’d been halfway across town, failing to get any sleep in his truck while parked behind an abandoned warehouse.

Liam wasn’t in his usual position when Theo left the bedroom. He’d turned away from the door, apparently not even wanting to look at Theo, who could see that his body was still tense with anger. The sheets, however, were ever so slightly pulled down on Theo’s - on the other side of the bed. Theo turned off the light and climbed in, lying on his back and making absolutely certain that no part of his body touched Liam’s.

“I was worried, Theo. I thought something had happened to you. Where were you?”

Theo took a deep breath, trying to appear as though Liam’s mood wasn’t affecting him, “I’m not used to having to check in with anyone.”

“Where were you?” The anger was still clear in Liam’s voice.

“Does it really matter?”

“You want to lie about it, so yes.”

Another long breath, “in my truck. Across town.”

Liam turned his head, his regular, human, eyes searching for Theo’s, “Why?”

“Thought it would be easier to stop coming here myself before you got sick of me.”

Liam rolled over, his voice now full of concern, “you think I would let you go back to living in your car?”

Theo nodded, “I was … scared. Maybe.”

Liam scoffed and shoved Theo lightly, “You’re so dumb.”

“Dumb?”

“Yeah, taking in strays is like lesson six in Scott’s werewolf handbook.”

Theo laughed, but immediately stopped when Liam rested his head on his chest, curling his body around Theo’s side.

“You make a comfy pillow though, so even though you’re dumb, I’ll let you stay.” Then Liam added in a whisper, “If you want.”

Liam felt Theo relax, his arms wrapping lightly around him. He replied just as quietly, “I want.”

“But if you wake me up even a second before I actually need to be up, I _will_ break your nose.”

 

* * *

 

A few days later, Liam’s mum cornered him while he was doing the dishes. His step dad had just left for work, and his mum was drying while Liam washed.

“So Liam,” she said casually as she dried a saucepan, “are we ever going to meet our new house guest?”

Liam dropped the plate he’d been cleaning back into the sink. Shit.

“Did you think we wouldn’t notice a car parked outside the house every night for over a week?”

“Um no…”

“Do you want to expand on that?”

“I umm… He was living in it!” Liam blurted out.

His mum’s eyes bulged, “Who was?”

“My friend.” His mum’s eyes narrowed, “Theo. Theo Raeken. You’ve never met him?”

“The name’s familiar … was he friends with Scott and Stiles?”

“Yeah, sort of,” Liam didn’t know any other safe way to explain how he knew Theo.

“Then why is he staying in our house? In your room?”

“He … dropped out last year, stuff went down with his family – I think, he hasn’t really talked much about it,” the lie was tumbling out of Liam, and he was glad his mother didn’t have werewolf senses, because she would have caught it in a second, “he…went away for a bit, but then he came back and then I found out he was living in his car and-“

“Liam, slow down,” He took a deep breath as his mum continued, “That was very kind of you.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Well, it would have been better if you had talked to me about it, but I couldn’t let one of your friends sleep in his car either. I can make up the guest room for him. When will we meet him?”

“I umm… I don’t know.”

“Is he coming tonight?”

Liam nodded. There were a lot of things going through his mind. He was glad his mum was okay with Theo staying, it did mean he wouldn’t have to explain why he was having so many showers, but he didn’t want her to make up the guest room.

“I don’t think … I mean, I don’t know … I think if Theo knew that you knew he might … not want to stay here. He doesn’t like asking for help.”

“A little bit like you in that way.”

“What? I do-“

“Liam, I’ll trust you with this, but I want you to be safe.”

“Safe?” How dangerous could his bedroom be?

“Yes,” she repeated, “safe.”

Oh, she meant _safe_. “That’s not-“

His mum held up her hand, stopping him mid-denial, “You can talk to me about anything Liam, always remember that. Now I think you can finish the dishes yourself, I’m going to turn in early tonight.”

She couldn’t have been more obvious if she had winked and nudged him.

Liam thought about telling Theo about the conversation when he arrived about two hours later, but he could tell that he’d had a rough day. Plus, he was a little scared that what he’d told his mum might be true; if Theo knew he was being helped, he might refuse it.

“What happened?” Liam asked as a dishevelled Theo walked into the room.

“Came across a camp of hunters. We knocked a couple of them out, but the rest got away. Shot their way out. One of them broke my foot with his rifle butt before Derek punched him.”

“Ouch, that’s a lot of bones to set.”

“Yeah,” Theo agreed, “Peter threatened to break it again when he found out I’d called Parrish to arrest the ones we’d knocked out. He wanted to go after the others.”

“Will you tomorrow?”

“Nah, Derek thinks they’re long gone.”

“Come here,” Liam patted his chest.

Theo looked at him quizzically before relenting, resting his head just below Liam’s shoulder. Liam brought his hand to Theo’s head, rubbing his fingers in small circles.

Theo practically purred, “Thanks Liam.”

 

 

* * *

 

“So let me get this right,” Mason said as he and Liam entered a store at the mall, “Theo has slept in your bed every night since we beat the Anuk-Ite? The same Theo Raeken who made you almost kill Scott and who you brought back from Hell with a magic sword?”

“Yes.”

“And not only has he been sleeping in your bed, but you’ve been cuddling every night before you go to sleep?”

“While we sleep, yes.”

“Okay…and your mum knows that Theo Raeken, murderous chimera, is sleeping in your bed every night?”

“Hey! He’s saved my life at least twice. And he gave me the idea to be co-captains with Nolan.”

“Reformed murderous chimera then,” Mason amended, “Your mum’s okay with it?”

“Yes. Well, she doesn’t know about the murderous chimera or me being a werewolf part. At least I don’t think she does … maybe she does, she worked out Theo was staying at mine.”

“Sleeping in your bed every night.”

“Yes that.”

“And we’re here,” Mason gestured at the clothes around them, “to buy Theo his own pyjamas so he feels more welcome at your house?”

“Yeah, that’s about it.”

“Right…so what kind?”

“What kind?” Liam repeated.

“Yeah, like a matching set, flannel, satin boxers, print, stripe, check, plain?”

“I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Of course you hadn’t, that’s why you brought me – oh I like those!”

Mason held up a pair of flannel pants with a matching shirt. They were navy blue with a red check and looked like something a 90 year old would wear.

“Not…that,” Liam said.

“Yeah, not for Theo, for Corey.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he’ll look really cute,” Mason explained, “That’s reason you buy people pyjamas, so they’ll look cute in them.”

“Is it?” Liam mumbled, turning away from Mason to hide the blush creeping up his neck.

“Or I suppose you might because you’re an extremely gracious host,” Mason allowed, “So I think Theo would probably appreciate something simple?”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Liam agreed.

“So let’s start with a t-shirt? Does he wear a shirt? One of those plain ones?”

Mason pointed to a rack that held a number of soft t-shirts in different colours. Liam picked up a light grey one.

“This?”

Mason laughed, “That’s a good start. Is he your size?”

“I think so.”

“So, some shorts? Navy?”

“Yeah,” Liam made his way to a display of shorts. They were the same fabric as the t-shirts and in similar colours. He supposed navy and grey was a good combination.

“So why is Theo staying at yours anyway?” Mason asked.

Liam started fishing through the pile of shorts for the right size, “I told you, he was sleeping in his truck.”

“Yeah, but why not Scott’s place? Or better yet, why can’t Derek or Peter put him up?”

“I think someone would get killed if Theo and Peter lived together.”

Mason laughed, “so why you?”

“I found him, out the front of my house one night.”

“Huh…weird.”

“Also we might have kissed in the elevator before we took on the hunters,” Liam bent down to pick up the right size, trying to feign as if the sentence he had just blurted out was no big deal. It was. Mason’s mouth and eyes were still wide in shock when Liam turned back to him.

“You what?”

Liam took a deep breath, “at the hospital, Theo pulled me into the elevator, before the hunters shot at me.”

“I knew that, and then you two kissed?” Mason’s voice went shrill at the end of the question.

“Well, it wasn’t moving, and I … told him that I wasn’t going to die for him. He said the same. I said we should fight. Then we … we kissed, and then he said let’s fight and we opened the door.”

“You kissed him or he kissed you?”

“Does it matter?”

“Liam, you’re telling me that you just kissed a guy for the first time ever. And not just any guy, but Theo Raeken, reformed murderous chimera who is now sleeping with you every night and who we’re buying pyjamas for. Of course it matters who kissed who.”

‘I don’t know,” Liam admitted, “it just sort of happened, we kissed each other.”

“Right…” Mason changed tack, “did you like it?”

“Um … yes?”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“That whole night is a bit of a blur, like I think I liked the kiss but it might have been because I thought I could die?”

“Do you want to kiss him again?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t ever talked about it.”

“You’re cuddling every night and you haven’t talked about the fact that you kissed?” Mason rolled his eyes, “boys.”

Liam ignored the comment, holding up the pyjamas he’d found, “I know I don’t want him to go back to sleeping in his car.”

Mason nodded, “okay. We need to talk more about this, but okay. Go buy Theo pyjamas, I’ll go grab those ones for Corey.”

“Mason?” Liam said quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t tell Corey about this?”

“Any of it?”

“Yeah, for now. I don’t think Theo would want people knowing he’s …” Liam didn’t want to say homeless, “Been sleeping in his car.”

“Yeah,” Mason nodded, “Okay.”

Liam went to pay for his chosen clothes as Mason went to grab the ones for Corey. He was just about to hand over his money when Mason called out, “wait, Liam!”

“Sorry,” Liam said to the cashier, turning to see Mason rushing towards him with something in his hands.

“You have to get these,” Mason thrust another pair of shorts into Liam’s hands. They were the same colour navy, but had a small print on them - wolf heads.

“You’re a terrible friend.”

Mason just laughed as Liam added the other shorts to his purchase.

 

When Theo got to his house that night, Liam had the pyjamas folded neatly on the bed, right where Theo couldn’t possibly miss them.

“Those are new,” Theo commented, pointing to the pile.

“Yeah, I ah … bought them for you.” Liam scratched the back of his head, offering Theo a small smile.

Theo raised an eyebrow.

“I was shopping with Mason, he got some stuff for Corey and I thought maybe you’d like something of your own instead of borrowing mine?” That was all technically true, even if the order of events Liam had suggested was wrong.

Theo picked up the pile, chuckling a little when he saw the wolf print, “I’ll just shower.”

When he came out of the bathroom, Theo was wearing the shorts with the wolves on them. Liam finally got to smirk at him.

‘They’re comfy.” Theo said as he turned off the light. He wrapped himself around Liam’s back, his face resting in Liam’s neck, “Thank you.”

Liam patted the arm Theo had wrapped around him, “Goodnight, Theo.”

“Night, Liam.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS. The title and chapters of this fic come from Michael Jackson's Will You Be There, which is an absolute tune. Listen to it.  
> PPS. I split what I was thinking was the second chapter into two parts so that's why there's only like four scenes. Also, I write really long scenes?


	3. Carry Me

The next night, Liam was lying with his head on Theo’s chest. He was wearing the plain shorts tonight, but the wolf print were folded neatly under his pillow. Theo had turned the light off a few minutes ago, but his breathing hadn’t slowed at all.

With that old concerned tone of Liam’s, he asked, “Theo?”

 “Yeah?”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, not wrong, I was just thinking…” Liam could feel the rumble of Theo’s voice through his chest.

“Yeah?”

“Now that I’ve got some clothes here,” Theo pulled at his shirt so Liam could feel, “Could I do some washing? Laundromats are a bit shit.”

Liam yawned. If that was what Theo had been mulling over, times had definitely changed, “yeah, of course. You can have one of my drawers if you like, leave some stuff here?”

“Oh…thanks.”

“No problem,” Liam yawned again, “anything else?”

Theo pulled Liam a bit closer to him, “Nah, you can sleep.”

Liam nodded, hearing Theo’s heartbeat slow. He was beginning to wonder if he’d ever get to sleep without it again.

 

* * *

 

_The lights were flickering, as normal, but he wasn’t in the morgue. It looked like the corridor where Gabe had been shot, but it could have been anywhere in the building. Theo had been chased through every inch of the place and he still couldn’t tell where he was. All the floors of the hospital were laid out the same, and except for places like the morgue or the emergency department, there was barely any way to tell them apart. It was like a labyrinth._

_That made Theo think of Liam, and he realised that he wasn’t running this time. The voice which always called to him was still there, but she was distant. It was almost like she wasn’t looking for him anymore. She’d been locked away. Tara would always haunt him, but maybe that was a good thing. He should remember what he’d done so that he could try to atone for it._

_The elevator doors at the end of the corridor dinged, and Theo swivelled towards them. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Tara sounded distant because she’d been muffled by the metal doors. Maybe his torture wasn’t over._

_As the doors opened, the light changed. The light spilling out of the elevator wasn’t the flickering of a fluorescent globe struggling to stay on. It didn’t even look artificial. It was as though the doors of the elevator opened outside of the building and the sun was rising behind them. Theo took a step towards the doors. Liam was standing in the elevator, leaning against the back wall. He broke into a huge smile, and Theo felt himself smiling back. As he took another step towards Liam, the bright light filled the corridor. Theo barely even noticed he was in the hospital anymore._

_Theo felt a dull pain in his stomach, making him stop. Looking down, he couldn’t see anything wrong. Another step forward, another pain, this time in his chest. He kept walking. Liam was still there in the elevator, smiling in the warm light …_

Then he wasn’t. He was, however, poking Theo repeatedly.

Seeing that Theo was awake, Liam mumbled, “You hit me.”

Theo must have rolled over during his dream. When they’d gone to sleep, Liam had been spooning him, but now they were facing each other, their legs tangled.

Theo hadn’t responded, so Liam poked him again, “you hit me in the face with your stupid heavy arm.”

“Oh, right, sorry,” Theo whispered, “I just … I was having ….”

Theo pushed himself off the bed, away from Liam. He couldn’t possibly explain his dream, especially not at – what was the time? The clock on Liam’s bedside table read 4am.

Theo retreated into the bathroom, splashing some water on his face. It was dark, but he could feel the redness in his cheeks. If he’d really tried, he could have looked in the mirror and seen it too. Coyotes were nocturnal after all. He forced himself to slow his breathing. He had to, he wanted to back to bed, to sleep next to Liam. But he couldn’t when he was practically hyperventilating when he’d just had a dream about the boy. Then it hit him. The dream wasn’t about Tracey or Josh or even Hayden or Corey, who had shown up a few times. It was about Liam. Tara had been there, she’s always be there, but it wasn’t that dream. He hadn’t returned to the hell scape that he’d often dreamed, especially when the Anuk-Ite had been around. In fact, he realised, he hadn’t dreamt his hell dream since he’d been sleeping next to Liam.

Theo opened the bathroom door, looking over to the bed. Liam hadn’t moved. His arm was outstretched, waiting for Theo to return. He grunted something that sounded distinctly like ‘hurry up’, but muffled, as though Liam wasn’t awake enough to form consonants. Theo crossed back over to the bed, wrapping his arm around Liam as Liam did the same to him.

“Sorry I hit you.”

“’sokay,” Liam mumbled, pulling Theo tighter. He buried his face into the fabric of Theo’s t-shirt, forcing Theo’s chin up. The smell of Liam’s hair hit Theo full force, and as he breathed deeply, he felt the same feeling as when he’d seen Liam in the dream. Peace. They were back to sleep in seconds.

 

 

A few days later, Theo had a drawer in Liam’s room full of clean clothes. He still kept a small bag in his car because he liked to plan for things going wrong, but other than that, all of his possessions were in Liam’s room. He’d also replaced the shower gel and shampoo when it had run out. Only because it was the polite thing to do of course, not because he liked the idea of Liam’s hair smelling good because of something he’d bought.  

It had been over a week since Theo, Peter and Derek had seen any sign of hunters. They’d found no more weapons, no camps, heard no rumours of groups whipping up anti-supernatural fervour in the surrounding towns. Scott, Malia and Lydia had sought out other shape-shifters with the help of Deaton, and the various groups around town were starting to trust each other. They were even beginning to plan to go to college again.

Which is why Theo was especially surprised to see was Lydia’s car out the front of Liam’s house. He thought she’d gone to college to sort out her enrolment, or to visit Stiles or something. She definitely was not supposed to still be in Beacon Hills. He sighed, Lydia still being here probably meant she’d had a vision of some new threat coming and couldn’t leave. Or she’d found a body somewhere. Or any one of a number of things had happened that he really didn’t want to deal with, he just wanted to go to bed. _With Liam_ , a voice deep within him added unbidden to the wish.

“Theo.” Lydia’s voice was muffled through his window, “we need to talk.”

He got out of the truck, seeing Lydia some distance away, in a park across from Liam’s house. It wasn’t much, more of a green space between a few streets. Lydia was sitting at one of the few tables that dotted the grass. Theo approached slowly. She gave no sign of acknowledgement as he sat across from her, just continued to stare into the distance, seeing and hearing who knows what. Theo didn’t even know how he’d heard her voice from inside his truck.

“Lydia?” Still no recognition of his presence, “I thought you were going to college?”

Her eyes darted around, her voice soft, “no, not college…London. Jackson and Ethan will need help. Isaac too.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Still no response, he growled, “Lydia!”

Her eyes finally focused on him.

“You said we needed to talk…”

“Yes,” She whispered, still coming out of her daze.

“About you going to London?”

“No, about you…”

Theo was worried now, “Have you seen something about me?”

“Yes, but it’s … different.”

“So I’m not about to die?”

“No,” Lydia shook her head, “At least I don’t think so. It’s confusing.”

“What did you see?”

“I saw you, but you kept changing.”

“Like, shifting?” Theo interrupted.

“No, I would see you, you were happy…Liam was there,” She frowned, having just realised herself that Theo hadn’t been the only one she’d seen, “Then everything was dark, you’d disappeared, but I could feel something watching me. I think it was you, it felt a little like when I see Malia.”

“You saw me as a coyote?”

“No, I felt you as a coyote, but a strange one.”

“Well that would be the wolf in me.” Theo laughed.

Lydia narrowed her eyes at him, “This isn’t funny, Theo. My visions always mean something.”

“Normally death.” Theo mumbled.

“Yes, normally,” Lydia reached out her hand to him, “but I think you’re different.”

Theo looked between Lydia’s face and the hand she placed before him on the table, “Why?”

“I saw the hospital.”

Theo gasped, he hadn’t told anyone about the hospital. He’d told them Tara had tortured him, sure, but he’d never mentioned where, “What did you see there?”

“It was empty, apart from a voice calling your name.”

“Tara’s.”

“I thought it might be.”

“She’s waiting for me to come back.”

“Maybe, I can’t be sure, but I might be able to help.” Lydia moved her hand again.

Gingerly, Theo reached forward, sliding his hand into Lydia’s. It was colder than he expected, but other than that, he felt nothing, no rush of power or pain between them. Lydia’s eyes were closed and her lips were moving wordlessly, but for Theo, the whole exchange was a little boring.

Lydia dropped his hand, her eyes fluttering open.

“So?” Theo asked, “Am I doomed to go back there?”

Lydia frowned again, “I see death, not what happens afterwards.”

“So this whole conversation was pointless?” Theo said, standing up from the table.

“No. I know why you’re different now.”

“I’m a chimera, wasn’t that obvious?”

Lydia peered up at him, “That’s a small part of it, but I think why you’re different is because you’re surrounded by death.”

“Thanks,” Theo huffed, “just bring up all the murder too.”

Lydia stood up as well, glaring at Theo, “I don’t mean it like that! You’re connected to death through your sister’s heart and because you got sent to hell and came back. Which means that you might be connected to me or to Parrish or whoever else who senses it. It could be useful, but I have to learn more.”

“Well let me know when you figure it out,” Theo turned and began to storm off.

“Theo.” Lydia’s voice called out to him again, laced with power. He froze.

“Don’t hurt him,” she said, “I saw the two of you happy, you can be if you want to.”

Theo stammered, not knowing any way he could respond to that.

Lydia walked up to him, staring him down again, “I’m leaving to learn more about what I am and what I can do, and to help our friends. I think you need to be here to do that, but you have to be open to it.”

She walked off, but Theo didn’t move until he heard her car pull away. Lydia thought he needed to be in Beacon Hills to learn about himself, but he knew he needed to be with Liam for that.

He was silent as he entered the house, still thinking about everything Lydia had said. When Theo reached Liam’s room, he saw him already dozing in his boxer shorts, his hair still damp from a shower. Theo padded to the bathroom, showering quickly, hoping not to wake Liam. When he got out, Liam’s eyes blinked open.

“Hey,” he said sleepily.

Theo smirked, “Big day at school?”

“Long lacrosse practice,” Liam yawned, “Coach says we lost a lot of time while half the team was playing war games.”

Theo chuckled as he got into the bed, Liam attaching himself to his side, “he called them war games?”

“mmhmm,” Liam nodded into Theo’s chest. Theo brought his hand into Liam’s hair and gave him a few scratches. Even though everything Lydia had said was still racing through his mind, as it always did next to Liam, sleep came quickly.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was Saturday, and Theo woke late. Liam’s leg was thrown across his waist, and his arm had slid under Theo’s shirt during the night. His hand was resting lightly over Theo’s heart. Theo could hear Liam’s parents pottering around downstairs, the sound of coffee being made and papers flicked through filtering up to him. Theo hadn’t really considered Liam’s parents before, they never seemed to be around, but then again, maybe he’d just made sure he was out of their way. Today though, he had nothing to do, no hunters to chase or plans to make with Peter and Derek. He’d love to just stay in bed.

Liam was certainly capable of that. Theo ran his fingers up and down the other boy’s bare back, eliciting a contented noise, but no sign of waking. His ability to keep sleeping was admirable, but it was annoying when Theo had to get up. He tried to lift Liam’s leg off of him, but all he got in return was a tighter hold, as though Theo’s body was the last vestiges of sleep that Liam was clinging to.

“Liam,” Theo’s voice was deep and gravely that morning, “if you don’t move your leg so I can go pee, you’re the one who will have to clean the sheets.”

Liam groaned, but after a moment rolled over, mumbling incoherently about how comfortable he’d been.

Theo paused in the doorway on the way back from the bathroom. He could still hear Liam’s parents downstairs, but Liam was still sprawled across the bed, his face calm and peaceful. His hair was messed up from sleep. His chest was rising and falling slowly with his breath, but Theo thought he was awake.

Liam blearily opened his eyes, “you heading off?”

Theo shrugged, he didn’t want to, but he also didn’t really want to admit that to Liam. “Peter’s given me the day off…” he said, uncommitted.

“Sleeeeep,” Liam intoned, making a little more space in the bed.

Theo stepped back towards the bed, motioning towards the ground “Your parents…?”

“Oh,” Liam rubbed his eyes, “They know you stay here.”

“Oh.”

“Is that okay?”

Theo sat back on bed, “I guess so.”

“Good,” Liam smiled and pulled Theo into a cuddle, “Back to sleep?”

Theo nodded into Liam’s chest, chuckling, “That does explain why all my clothes were washed so well.”

Liam hummed in agreement, then, after a pause, realised that might have been an insult. He gave Theo a quick pinch to his forearm, “Hey, I can do washing!”

“But did you?”

Liam paused, “No.”

“I knew it.”

They were quiet for a moment, Theo idly running his fingers along Liam’s stomach, “so should I meet your parents?”

“I suppose so? I thought we were going back to sleep though?”

“Not all of us are as lazy as you, Liam.”

Liam groaned, “Okay okay, we can get up.”

He pushed himself of the bed, Theo’s head thumping down in the process. Liam stretched up, yawning as he did so. Theo thought that he may possibly be the most lethargic werewolf in history. He grabbed Liam’s arm as it came down from the stretch.

“We ah… we don’t have to do it right away.”

Liam turned, looking quizzically at Theo. His heartbeat had quickened, “Theo Raeken, are you scared of meeting my parents?”

“No! I just…” Theo dropped Liam’s hand. He looked around him, searching for a reason. He didn’t think he was scared, but he knew that meeting Liam’s parents would change things. Even though they apparently knew he’d been sleeping here, meeting them would almost be like he was officially moving in. To Liam’s room. Which he wasn’t complaining about, but how were they explaining that?

He decided to go with something he knew Liam would understand, “I never get to sleep in, and I don’t want to leave bed yet.”

Liam practically jumped back under the covers, “Theo, you know the way to a man’s heart.”

Theo laughed as Liam rearranged himself. They ended up sort of side by side, but one of Liam’s arms was under Theo’s back in a wide side hug. Theo would never be able to explain how even the strangest positions Liam and he slept in could be comfortable.

“So does that thing work?” Theo motioned towards the TV in the corner of Liam’s room.

“Oh yeah! I just … haven’t used it much recently with all the … stuff that’s been happening.”

“So … should we watch something?”

Liam nodded, “Yeah, I’ve got Netflix and everything. What were you thinking?”

“Something funny?”

“Yeah, sounds good, our lives can be a bit dramatic. I started Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt a while ago that’s funny she’s part of a cult and oh no not that one…”

Theo raised an eyebrow, “What?”

“Umm … we shouldn’t watch that one it might be … too close to home.”

“Right.” It never ceased to be awkward when Liam forgot Theo’s past, even though Theo got a little thrill every time he did. There was something about the slight blush that coloured his cheeks, and the fact that it meant that he wasn’t constantly thinking that he was sharing his room with a messed-up science experiment, “Liam, I’ve never had much time to watch TV with all the ‘stuff that’s happened’, so just put on whatever as long as it’s funny.”

“Wait, does that mean you’ve never seen Friends?”

“Yes.”

“But you know what it is right?”

“I lived underground, not under a rock.”

“Okay,” Liam nodded, “Friends it is. Funny, no supernatural activity, terrible outfits. It’ll be great.”

And it was. They started right from the beginning, watching Rachel running into Central Perk in a wedding dress, and Theo agreed, it was funny.

 After a few episodes, they ventured downstairs, where Liam’s parents were making lunch, and it wasn’t the most awkward thing Liam had ever experienced. He chalked that up as a win, particularly because of how Theo beamed when his mum thanked him for giving Liam the idea to be co-captains with Nolan. Seeing Theo happy made Liam happy. Watching Theo and his parents talk and eat together, Liam realised that not only did he not want Theo to leave, but he wanted him to stay, permanently, like this. He had to talk to Mason.

 

* * *

 

It took Liam days to get Mason sufficiently alone to talk to him. In that time, Liam was pretty sure Theo told Derek where he was staying, who must have mentioned something to Peter, who might have told Malia, who would have told Scott. Liam got a few weird messages from Scott, asking how he was going, had he noticed anything strange around school, how was his anger. Liam answered that that he fine and hadn’t had any IED flare ups. He was getting back on track at school and no members of staff appeared to want to murder him. Except Coach, but that was normal. Ms Finch was even rumoured to be coming back soon. The only thing bothering Liam was how he thought he might feel about Theo.

“He’s met your parents?” Mason confirmed, “So people know now, I can tell Corey?”

“You haven’t yet? What did you tell him about the pyjamas?”

“That I saw them and thought of him,” Mason explained, “The truth isn’t difficult, Liam.”

“And can’t long be hidden,” Liam mused.

“No,” Mason agreed, “You need to talk to me about more than just the fact that Theo met your parents, yeah?”

Liam nodded.

“Am I going to have to guess?”

“No! I ah … okay, so Theo, I …” Liam took a deep breath, “IthinkImighthavefeelingsforTheo.”

“Did something happen? Did you kiss again?”

“No, nothing happened, but I think I want it to?”

Mason waited for Liam to continue.

“Shouldn’t you be freaking out or something? Aren’t I like coming out to you right now?”

“Are you coming out to me?” Mason asked.

“I – I don’t know.”

“That’s pretty clear.” Mason placed his hand on Liam’s shoulder, “You can have feelings for Theo without having to define or redefine your sexuality. Why don’t you tell me about him?”

“About Theo?”

“Yeah,” Mason confirmed, “Why do you think you might have feelings for him?”

“I just … I don’t want him to leave.”

“Is he planning to?”

“No … but like, now that everyone knows, maybe he’ll stay in the guest room?”

“Are you still cuddling before you go to sleep?”

Liam nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, all the time.”

“Do you cuddle in the mornings too?”

“Mason, we cuddle all the time. While we’re sleeping.”

“Wait so you don’t roll over to go to sleep?”

“No,” Liam frowned, “Why does it matter?”

“Well it’s weird!”

“Yeah, I know, but it’s comfy.”

“No, I mean that you sleep cuddling,” Mason explained to a still confused-looking Liam, “There’s memes about how bad it is when your partner stops cuddling you.”

“What?”

“Like an old lady on life alert clutching her chest and the caption is ‘When he stops cuddling you and turns to face the other way.”

“Mason why is this important?”

“Because I want to know how you do it! I’d love to snuggle with Corey all night.”

Liam shrugged, “Maybe it’s a wolf thing.”

Mason scoffed, “That’d be right – super strength, super healing, no sickness, accelerated healing, _and_ the ability to cuddle all night.”

“We do hate full moons?”

“Yeah yeah, but you all seem to get over that.” Mason paused a moment, “Oh wait, I know! When you cuddle, have you felt his dick?”

“What!?!” Liam blushed a little. Mason had got more forward since dating Corey.

“When he’s spooning you, have you felt his dick against you? Did you like it?”

“I haven’t noticed anything…”

“Huh, maybe he’s just small…”

“God Mason why does that matter?”

“Well if you do like him you should probably want to touch his dick at some point.”

Liam pondered that. He hadn’t really thought about sex with Theo until then. Kissing yeah. Cuddling for ever, most definitely. But what would sex be like?

Mason clicked his fingers in front of Liam’s face, “You’re getting a bit distracted, man.”

“Sorry,” Liam blushed again.

“I think you need to talk to Theo, he’s the only one who can clear this up for you.”

“But what do I say?”

“Just be honest with him. Tell him you think you might like him more than just allies who used to be enemies and who now cuddle every night.”

There was no way Liam could be anything other than honest with Theo, because Theo always knew when he was lying. It wasn’t even chimera powers anymore, Liam thought Theo might know him better than anyone else. He would have to do it. Say to Theo: ‘hey, I’ve been really enjoying sleeping with you, but I might also like it if we kissed again maybe’. And he had to do it tonight, before he lost his nerve.

 

* * *

 

All day, Theo had been bored. He was wondering around the woods with Derek and Peter, finding no sign of any hunters. Inexplicitly, they seemed to have disappeared. There were no weapons to be found, no traps laid, and any signs of camps were weeks old. The other packs that Scott had connected with hadn’t seen anything either. Despite Monroe’s fanaticism and promise to return, she seemed to have disappeared.

Derek and Peter were terrible company. One was generally silent and the other liked the sound of his own voice and his own opinion too much. Theo was bored of them both, and wished it was a weekend so he could have made some excuse, some lie, and gone back to bed with Liam to watch TV all day. A year ago he would have scoffed at himself, but now he understand the appeal of binge watching.

So Theo was at Liam’s early. The sun was only just setting but Derek and Peter had both agreed that they weren’t going to find anything that day. They’d begun talking about going back to their normal lives, though Theo had never been able to work out exactly what that involved for them. He was glad to be rid of them, but he realised as he turned into Liam’s street that it was practically dinner time and he’d never been at Liam’s this early. Over the weekend they’d ordered food in, but Theo felt different about possibly sitting down to dinner with Liam’s parents. He wanted that normality, but he still hadn’t been able to figure out how to ask for it.

He knew as he pulled up to the curb that Liam wasn’t there. He cracked the window just to check, and sure enough, he couldn’t hear any sign of him. He checked his phone. There was nothing there from Liam, and Theo couldn’t bring himself to message him to ask when he’d get home. He’d just have to drive around until later.

He was about to start the car again when he saw Liam’s mum walking up to it.

“Theo!” she called out, “don’t you dare drive off.”

He got out of his truck and she practically pulled him inside. Theo could tell that rambling might be a family trait.

“Liam’s got a late practice before the game tomorrow night. That coach works them too hard sometimes, I swear. But it’s good for Liam to use up energy, it’s always helped to keep him calm. I suppose he hasn’t told you when he’d be home? No. He forgets the simple things sometimes, always worrying about the worst-case scenario. He hasn’t even given you a key has he? I’ll get one cut tomorrow for you.”

She left him at Liam’s bedroom door with the promise that Liam should be home within the hour, and that they would then have dinner. It wasn’t often that Theo was alone in the room, and he took a moment to appreciate it. He breathed deep. Liam’s scent was strong, but Theo could tell his own was there too. He walked over to the desk, flipping through the books that Liam had left there. The signs of Liam’s life were all over the room, but it made Theo happy to see that his own mark on the room was visible. The bedside table on his side was much cleaner for example, and he’d insisted that Liam actually pick up his clothes and put them in the laundry hamper, it wasn’t enough to throw them in its general direction.

Figuring that he may as well embrace the slovenly, Theo climbed into bed and switched on Netflix. He pulled Liam’s pillow on top of his own. With the smell surrounding him, it was as though a phantom Liam was in bed with Theo. It obviously didn’t compare to the real deal, but Theo relaxed anyway.

He was halfway through his second episode when Liam barged into the house, his kit bag banging against the walls as he stomped up the stairs. The loud entrance gave Theo enough time to compose himself. He straightened the bed covers and lay on top of them as Liam often did when Theo arrived.

Liam stopped dead in his doorway, “Theo.”

“It’s a good thing you’re strong, Liam,” Theo laughed, “Because you’d make a terrible assassin.”

Liam blinked at him, “You’re here early.”

“No sign of hunters anywhere. We weren’t going to find them in the dark.”

“Oh…” Liam just seemed to realise the TV was on, “you watched more episodes without me!”

The look of shock on Liam’s face made Theo sit up straighter, “was I not meant to? I was bored and-”

Liam cut him off, “It’s okay because I’ve already seen it, but it is a cardinal sin to watch ahead.”

Theo continued to stare at him. Why were there so many rules to these things?

“Boys!” Liam’s mum called up, “Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes!”

“Oh right, I should shower.”

Theo grinned, “You should. You stink.”

Unable to think of a comeback, Liam just glared at Theo as he walked across to the bathroom. He was rewarded with a pillow smacking into the back of his head when he turned to the door. He spun around, eyes glowing and a soft growl rising from his throat.

Theo was practically giggling on the bed.

“Liam! I still don’t hear the shower!”

In response to both Theo and his mum, Liam slammed the door and turned the water on as loudly as possible. He hadn’t expected Theo to be here yet. He’d wanted some time to gather his thoughts and work out how to tell Theo he liked him. Now he was here, being infuriatingly at home and making it all the harder for Liam to act like a normal person. The smell of his soap calmed him a little until he remembered that Theo had bought it. He couldn’t escape him!

Liam was still a little agitated when he got out of the shower, but Theo had already made his way downstairs. Once again, Theo proved himself to be utterly charming at meal times. He had Liam’s mum laughing the whole time and kept meeting Liam’s gaze and smiling. He certainly wasn’t making anything easier for Liam.

His mum retired into the living room, leaving Liam and Theo to do the dishes. Theo splashed Liam a few times, saying he should stop being such a grumpy wolf. Liam didn’t retaliate, but tried to get the dishes done as quickly as possible. He liked having dinner with Theo, but he couldn’t keep on pretending that there wasn’t something more than friendship there.

They went back up to Liam’s room and Theo started to set up Netflix.

“Wait, Theo. I want to talk to you about something.”

Theo was already lying on the bed, but Liam had remained near the closed door. He frowned, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Liam stammered, “it’s just…do you like staying here?”

Theo’s frown deepened, “Yeah I … thank you.”

“So … do you want to keep staying here?”

“If that’s okay?”

“No I meant,” Liam gestured around, “here, this room. Mum said she could make up the spare bed.”

“Oh,” Theo paused, looking around the room again. It was undoubtedly Liam’s, but he liked that. His eyes landed on Liam, who was shuffling awkwardly, his eyes fixed on the floor. “I like here.”

Liam’s eyes shot up, a coy smile on his face, “I like you being here.”

He stepped towards Theo, who didn’t look away. Liam’s mouth was dry. He licked his lips. Theo kept looking at him, waiting for him.

“I wanted to tell you-“

Liam was interrupted by both his and Theo’s phones going. They both looked down, pulling them out of their pockets.

“I should get this,” They said to each other.

“Scott? What’s up?” Liam said.

“Hello? Lydia? Are you there?”

Liam frowned at Theo. Why was Lydia calling him? “Wait, Scott, what was that?”

“Yeah, wait a sec.” Theo covered the mouthpiece, turning to Liam, “Hold that thought?”

Liam nodded. Theo walked into the bathroom, “Lydia, what’s going on? Where are you?”

There was a bit of delay on the line, “In London. I had a dream.”

“I assumed.”

“Something’s going to change, Theo. You need to be careful.”

“I’m always careful.” Theo grinned, hoping Lydia would sense it.

“They’re in Canaan.”

The name sounded familiar, but Theo couldn’t place it, “Who’s where now?”

“Hunters. They’re regrouping in Canaan. Somehow they found it, I think Lenore might have left or they killed her or…”

“The town that the wild hunt took? They found it?”

“I don’t know how,” Lydia admitted, “I just know that they did. I told Scott.”

“I know. He’s talking to Liam now.”

“He wants to go there, that’s why you have to be careful.”

“Did you see anything in particular?”

“It was too jumbled, everything’s in flux.”

“You can’t give me anything to go on?”

“It’s not a science, Theo. Just be careful.”

“Okay.” His voice was quiet, he was used to being careful.

“I have to go.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“Good luck, Theo. Not just for Canaan.”

Lydia hung up, leaving Theo reeling. He heard Liam say goodbye to Scott. He didn’t sound happy.

When Theo opened the bathroom door, it looked like Liam might throw his phone across the room.

“He’s planning something and he wants me to stay behind.”

“Lydia saw where the hunters are.”

“He wants me to stay behind.” Liam repeated, “To play lacrosse while you go after them.”

Theo stepped towards him, “That’s what he’s always wanted, for you, Mason, and Corey to be normal.”

“We’re not normal!”

Theo smiled, “No, but you can be safe.”

Liam was about to respond, but Theo’s phone rang.

“It’s Scott.” Theo didn’t answer yet, “I have to go.”

“I know.”

“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid?”

Liam nodded, “I’ll stay and play lacrosse.”

Theo nodded back, turned, and answered the phone. Liam watched as the door closed behind him, thinking just how close he’d been to telling Theo how he felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I'm the worst person for doing this but I started writing something completely different and that distracted me so it might be another wait for the last chapter sorry! But the muse might want me to write this, who knows?
> 
> Also I just really like Lydia and feel that she gets forgotten in a lot of fic so here she is doing what I think she would do and trying to learn as much as she can about how powers and improve them. Hopefully I wrote her well.


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